Holiday Treat Boxes

Each year it is my happy responsibility to make bridge mix, a recipe given to me by my high school friend. I've been doing it for years. Even though I no longer eat it, I still make it for my expecting friends and family.

I put the bridge mix in Chinese food take-out containers. This year I designed some panels for the front and back. I even took the photos of the bridge mix for the panels (with a bit of added holiday graphics). 

I got an alterable Nutrition Label, and added some nonsense/humor to the information. Not sure you can read all of it (it's too small), but if you look you can see some of it. I really enjoyed making these.

I usually make around 30 boxes. I also designed and cut labels for the top (I have to do this so my husband won't sneak bridge mix out of other peoples boxes!)

This box was made for some pecan brittle I made for a few others who won't eat the bridge mix for health purposes. It is made without sugar (keto). The pattern for this flip-top box comes from Simply Crafty SVGs.

I added a couple of extra layers on the bottom and sides of the box to get it more strength for holding the brittle.

Lastly, I made this little tray, used for some keto crackers that I made. It's so cute. It's a free cut file from Dreaming Tree, called Cookie Snack Tray. It's pretty small so I made it at 110% and it worked well for my purposes. But, to me, it seems a bit small for anything but very small snacks. 

Merry Christmas!

12 Days of Tags - 2022

Another year of holiday tags has arrived. This yearly challenge has us making 12 tags, posted a tag a day beginning December 1. The challenge is presented by our paper crafty Facebook page, EcalSCALCreateMakers. The 12th day was today, so I can finally post here. It's surprising how quickly the 12 days went. These are so fun. If you are so inclined, you can look at previous years to see more different tags.

Day 1 Tag: 

This cute and easy little tag pattern is from Design Bundles. The pink/red color on the top tags did not look good with my intended kraft tag, so I switched it out with a darker red. Then used a sage green as the front with the pink/red, and it worked much better. Very quick tag!

Day 2 Tag:

The hot chocolate mug contains a peppermint stick, which I made myself, along with simple, but cute gingerbread men. I had an image of whipped cream, but made a second copy and cut it apart and used foam tape to give it dimension. The snowflake is from Creative Fabrica.

Day 3 Tag:

I used htv on these little muslin bags (3.5"x5.5"). The Santa sack images came from Creative Fabrica, and I altered them a bit to fit my purposes.

A little treat in the bag will be a great topper for my grandson's Christmas gifts. I've shown a close up to show the detail with which my Starcraft Solo cutting machine can produce. It was amazing, but my older eyes did have a bit of a time weeding the vinyl, as the pieces were microscopic.

Day 4 Tag:

I made this tag when I saw a tag on Pinterest that I liked. I recreated my version in Affinity Photo, and added this cute little Santa head from Shutterstock.

Day 5 Tag:

This is a print-2-cut image that came from Creative Fabrica. I added the wording, and copied out a few elements to be popped up to give a bit of dimension.

Day 6 Tag:

Love this layered mandala Christmas tree. The free svg came from the Crazy Cricut Lady (Carmel). She has lots of  free cut files in svg format, so anyone with a cutting machine should be able to utilize them. I added the wavy Merry Christmas label.

Day 7 Tag:

This is a simple tag I made similar to a birthday card I recently made. It was designed in Affinity Photo, then a print-2-cut on kraft cardstock and layered with a black edge. Then, another print to cut with the ornaments, which I popped up with foam pieces on top of the printed one (colors don't print well on colored backgrounds).

Day 8 Tag:

The art for this groovy retro-Christmas tag came from Creative Fabrica. Lots of print-2-cut, layering and popping up of elements for this fun tag. Christmas trees, star, labels, gifts, nutcracker, poinsettias and flowers. Peace out!

Day 9 Tag:

No pattern for this one. I used elements from SVG Cuts' Cardinal Crate Box Card. I put some flocking on the cardinal. And, the cardinal is standing on a twig from my yard. And the pine cone, also from my yard, made much smaller by pulling off prongs and sanding down the back.

Day 10 Tag:

This simple little tag's images came from Fast Snail Shop (stocking cap) and Creative Fabrica (Retro Christmas Clip Art). The stocking cap was altered. The background was altered from a frame I found in the Affinity Photo stock images. Then ferns were added.

Day 11 Tag:

This is a little tag made as a gift box with a little tag! I used a burlap digital paper, with the ferns, some twine and a mini gift tag.

Day 12 Tag:

This was made from digi paper by BoBunny. I copied out the inner frame, cut it, and put it on top of the full image to pop it out, then added a vintage Christmas tree from Shutterstock. And, then a little peace tag on the top edge. I made multiple layers of the popped up frame and the little peace tag. And double layered the background as well.

And, there you go! 12 tags for the first 12 days of December, 2022. Hopefully see you again in another year (or when spring tags happen, or fall tags!

Merry Christmas to You All!

 

Retro VW Bus Birthday Card

I made this birthday card for my elementary through high school bestie. We graduated in 1971, and still manage to stay and in touch and meet for a long chat-fest a couple of times a year. Boy, we have had some fun times over the years, and I just love her to bits.

The graphics images came from Creative Fabrica, and I altered them in Affinity Photo.  Used my Starcraft Solo to print-2-cut the images.

Happy #69 Patty!

Learning Affinity Photo, after 20 years of using Photoshop

 I've been using/learning Affinity Photo now for over a year. I previously used Photoshop for well over 20 years, but was using an extremely old version. I no longer am able to use it, and refuse to pay monthly when I'm not a professional. I'm a crafter, so mainly use it to prepare photos and graphics for personal use and cutting with an electronic cutting machine.

I recently decided to try a couple of new techniques. I was able to do this in my cutting machine software, but wanted the ability to use brushes and text w/ swashes (ligatures). So, I headed over to YouTube and watched a tutorial for the text/swashes. 

I had seen a card (on Pinterest?), and decided to recreate it.

The hearts were made from the heart tool in the program. I changed size and perspective, and added the little balloon ties on the bottom. I used a water color brush to color them in, and a splatter brush on the background.

The text tutorial used the font "Hello Honey", which you can find personal limited usage of on dafont.com. In order to utilize the swash you will type your wording (no capitols; it won't work on a capital letter). Select the first letter of the word, and while it is highlighted, go to the top and select fi (You can also find it under the Typography heading in the Character panel). It means standard ligature (don't ask, I'm not a linguist). Look under All Alternates and select the one that looks like a leading swash. It will attach to that first letter. Then select the last letter and do the same. It's pretty cool how it works. Depending upon what font you use, your choices may be different. Haven't figured out how to add more than one swash, however, But, that's for another day.

I copied one of the balloons for the inside sentiment.

For the balloon string I typed a letter and did the swash, then rasterized the type and erased the letter, duplicated it and put the two pieces together.

I know that's all a bit too much for lots of people to deal with, but I'm just sharing in case someone is interested in knowing the details. Ya think this was just whipped up, but these things take so much more time than any of us imagine.

Have a great day, all!

Happy Graphicing! (new word?)

 

50 Years of Wedded Bliss

My sister and brother in-law recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. I made them this card. No pattern. Just added elements I thought they might like.

My Starcraft Solo cutting machine cut the small details of the doily with no issues at all. I used some preprinted canvas as the background and another smaller piece behind the top photo. All photos, the pink hearts and the photos were prepared first in Affinity photo, as was the little Happy Anniversary label. All were cut in the Solo using the print-2-cut technique. And, along the bottom of the card is some corrugated paper edged with lace.

The inside was also done with print-2-cut.

We celebrated with a family meal at the Brigantine Restaurant. It was a wonderful day.

Many, many more, Bob and Terry

Mario Brothers Birthday Card

This is a card I made for my grandson's 8th birthday. Like most kids his age, Mario Brothers is a big deal. The theme paper was purchased on Etsy.

This inside pop-up is a die set by Karen Burniston, called Photo Collage Pop-Up (1098). Also, I always give him alphabet cracker treats when he comes over, and write something different each week. So, I added a few photos of his treats on the background.

A little video to show the pop-up a bit better. So much color in this one that it's hard to see the dimension.

Mamma Mia! Here we go!

Halloween Houses - Scary!

 I made two Halloween houses this year. The first was the Bewitched Cabin from the Haunted Forest SVG Kit by SVG Cuts. It was really fun to make, and so satisfying. I added a changing color battery-operated tea light inside that changed the colors of the windows that were covered with colored vellum. There is a full step-by-step tutorial to help you assemble it. The roof comes off so that you can insert the tea light inside.

The second house was designed by Dreaming Tree. 

This one is so whimsical and just darling. It's called the Ghostly Guest House, and can be found at Dreaming Tree. There is a full tutorial to help you assemble it after you cut it out with your personal electronic cutting machine.

There was one thing I would do differently than the tutorial, that will make it much easier. Here is my suggestion. When putting the two side towers on the roof it is suggested in the tutorial to put them on after you have assembled the roof onto the house. I found it difficult to maneuver the tabs through the house. I recalled that when watching the tutorial Leo mentioned how strong the roof was after he completed it. So, as an alternative, I found that putting the towers on prior to attaching the roof onto the house works much easier, and does not alter the integrity of the roof/house assembly. So, here you will see that I have assembled these towers directly onto the roof, which is quite strong/stiff on it's own.

After the roof is completed, you can merely glue it onto the house structure (make sure to center it front to back). There is plenty of area for adherence, so there is no worry about it coming off. And, it will also hide the tabs of the towers so they won't show from inside (which you never really see anyway). There is a little door on the back that opens and closes with a little Velcro tab so that you can insert a tea light.

Please go try both of these houses. They are so fun, and you will be delighted at the result.

Don't go to the Haunted House alone!!!

Happy Halloween 2022

These small cards with gumby monster attached were made for my grandson's school mates. This was a free A4 card that I matted with black. I then added a small tag on the back (print-2-cut).

Happy Halloween!

Shutter Camera Box and Shutter Card

This was a really fun Project. I had made the Box Camera from SVG Cuts on another occasion. I had also made a separate shutter card. (posted below) I then had the idea to combine them, as cameras already have shutters. Don't know why I didn't think of it before. Love the way this one turned out.

I made this box as a birthday gift for a good friend.

The small circle where it says "Oh Snap" has clear acrylic.

This is the first Box Camera I made with no shutter. This one has clear acrylic in the shutter area as well.

And, here's the shutter card by itself. Made for another friend's birthday. The pattern for the shutter card is a freebie from SVG Nation. There's a YouTube tutorial for assembly.

Made some little inserts on the inside. Just having fun trying different things out.

Smile! It's your day!

Fall Tags, 2022

The next yearly SCAL/ECAL/CREATE challenge is here. We were asked to make three fall-themed tags. I know I've said it before, but these challenges are not a competition, but just a fun way to share ideas.

My first tag was a little leaf wreath. I cut out mini leaves of assorted colors and types, and added a few acorns. I used a Happy Thanksgiving tag from one of my digital element packs.

Tag day 2 had me making an Autumn Gnome tag. This was my fave of the three. This was originally designed as wall decor, at 16.6" tall. I reduced the size to only 4.5" tall (3" wide), and it turned out so darling. Those leaf vein pieces were, at most, 1/32" wide. This cut file comes from Dreaming Tree. You can find the cut file here. There is a detailed assembly tutorial available.

And lastly tag day 3. No pattern for this one. Lots of print-2-cut and digital elements. Also a good amount of foam squares for dimension. Love that pumpkin spice!

And, that's a wrap for this fall's tags. We will be having our yearly Christmas tag challenge posting beginning December 1st. If you have a cutting machine (pretty much any one) and use either Scal, Ecal or Create software, join us and share your projects. We are constantly learning from each other and have a great time. eCal, SCAL & Create Users

Pumpkin Spice - The Spice of Life!

Easter Egg Luminary (60s version)

I loved making this Easter Egg Luiminary from SVG Cuts. It was so interesting. It seems a bit complicated to make at first, but just following the tutorial will show you how easy it really is. There's no guessing what gets glued to where, especially if you're using patterned paper panels. 

There are small tea lights that I set underneath where there is a hole. They are battery operated and constantly changing colors. You can see some of the colors the petals changed to in the following photo.

There's a larger panel around the bottom edge (five total panels), so I saved it as a png file, took it into my photo editing program (Affinity Photo). I designed the panel with a tie dye pattern, and put a different word on each one. When I finished, I opened it up in my cutting machine software and traced it. Then did a print-2-cut.

Thanks to Mary Bonk of SVG Cuts, who designed the egg so intuitively. I loved attaching the panels by an entire triangle, rather than regular tabs. It helped so much. It also helped that my egg had patterned paper, so there was no guessing when matching the triangle areas for gluing.

The top notch on the egg were individual images. I cut two of each (the ones with wording needed to be flipped and the words re-inserted so they'd print correctly). I got a very thin dowel and used floral tape to attach the floral wire.  I inserted it from the bottom into a small hole I made in the top. I glued the bottom of the dowel to one of the edges in the bottom to stabilize it, and let it dry thoroughly. The top of the dowel just barely came through the top hole. I cut the images using print-2-cut, and then cut the floral wire as I added the images so I'd get them at the proper height.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this. I'm sort of in love with it. It's so cheery that I get a little smile each time I look at it.

PEACE OUT, FRIENDS!